Characteristics of included mothers, neonates and birth attendants
| Mothers | n=99 n (%) | Neonates | n=99 n (%) | Birth attendants | n=45 n (%) |
| Age (years) | Gender | Age (years) | |||
| 15–19 | 15 (15) | Female | 52 (52) | 20–30 | 14 (31) |
| 20–24 | 42 (42) | Male | 47 (47) | 31–41 | 21 (47) |
| 30–34 | 10 (10) | Birth type | 42–52 | 10 (23) | |
| 35–49 | 11 (11) | Singleton | 90 (90) | Qualification level | |
| Antenatal attendance | Twins | 9 (9) | Degree nurse | 2 (4) | |
| Yes | 96 (97) | Apgar score at 1 min | Diploma midwife | 27 (60) | |
| No | 3 (3) | 0–3 | 28 (28) | Certificate midwife | 16 (36) |
| Birth order | 4–6 | 58 (58) | Attended HBB refresher course | ||
| First child | 38 (38) | ≥7 | 12 (12) | Yes | 27 (60) |
| Second child | 19 (19) | Apgar score at 5 min† | No | 18 (40) | |
| Third child or later | 42 (42) | 0–3 | 6 (6) | Time since last HBB refresher course | |
| Pregnancy complications | 4–6 | 45 (45) | ≤6 months | 10 (37) | |
| Obstructed labour | 14 (14) | ≥7 | 48 (48) | 6–12 months | 4 (15) |
| Fetal distress | 4 (4) | Birth weight in grams | ≥12 months | 13 (48) | |
| Pre-eclampsia/eclampsia | 3 (3) | 1000–1499 | 7 (7) | Reasons for not attending HBB refresher course | |
| Breech | 5 (5) | 1500–1999 | 9 (9) | I have adequate knowledge | 8 (18) |
| Cord prolapse | 2 (2) | 2000–2999 | 26 (26) | No time | 9 (20) |
| Oligohydramnios | 6 (6) | ≥3000 | 56 (56) | No finances | 10 (22) |
| Preterm birth | 1 (1) | No such course was offered | 4 (9) | ||
| Other* | 16 (16) | No opportunity | 5 (11) | ||
| No complications | 48 (48) | No answer | 2 (4) | ||
| Mode of delivery | Used the HBB action plan during resuscitations | ||||
| Spontaneous vaginal delivery | 48 (48) | Yes | 41 (91) | ||
| Caesarean section | 48 (48) | No | 4 (9) | ||
| Instrumental delivery | 3 (3) | ||||
*Other: cervical dystocia, bleeding conditions such as placenta previa or placental abruption, and delayed second stage of labour, which in 14 out of 16 occurrences resulted in a caesarean section.
†Apgar score at 10 min was not included as most attention is given to the scoring at 5 min.
HBB, Helping Babies Breathe.